Federal authorities probing flight that almost ran out of fuel

An Allegiant Air passenger jet was dangerously low on fuel when it forced its way onto a landing strip in Fargo, N.D. that was temporarily closed to most traffic. Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating why the plane was not properly fueled, reported the Associated Press.

The closure had been scheduled due to a practice flight by the Navy Blue Angels. An audio capture of the incident reveals an air traffic controller telling the pilot that his company should have been aware of the closure. The plane, which was flying with 144 passengers from Las Vegas, didn’t have enough fuel to make it to another airport and needed to land at Hector International Airport.

Amazon wants a special air zone for its fancy delivery drones

Online retailer Amazon AMZN wants to someday deliver your order via drone — a high-speed one, at that — and it wants a special piece of the sky to shuttle those drones, according to a proposal the company unveiled on Tuesday at a NASA convention in California.

As part of its plan, Amazon suggests a 200-foot space of air — between 200 and 400 feet from the ground — be reserved for state-of-the-art drones flying at speeds of 60 knots or more. To keep things safe, it also proposes that a 100-foot cushion just above that airspace be made a no-fly zone to act as a buffer between drones and other aircraft, such as planes, according to The Guardian.

“The way we guarantee the greatest safety is by requiring that as the level of complexity of the airspace increases, so does the level of sophistication of the vehicle,” said Gur Kimchi, VP and co-founder of Amazon’s delivery-by-drone project, Prime Air, at the NASA event, according to The Guardian. “Under our proposal everybody has to be collaborative – vehicles must be able to talk to each other and avoid each other as the airspace gets denser at low altitudes.”

In Amazon’s world, the drones it and others use will be highly sophisticated, safe, and autonomous. The company has outlined five capabilities drones in the special zones must have. They include: sophisticated GPS that tracks the location of other drones in real-time; a reliable Internet connection; online flight planning to communicate the drone’s path; communications equipment; and sensor-based sense-and-avoid equipment to fly around other drones and obstacles.

Amazon’s proposal would also set some limits on drone hobbyists. Their aircraft would be confined to small pockets outside of these new flight areas unless they meet the criteria to fly among Amazon’s drones. Currently, they are permitted to fly up to the 400-foot mark.

But even if Amazon’s proposal becomes reality, it will likely be a while from now before drones flying in a special zone to drop off packages are an everyday thing. Only recently did a company complete the first successful drone delivery — and it wasn’t Amazon. The company is unfortunately still butting heads with the Federal Aviation Administration over how strict its regulations should be.

This drone is packing heat, but it isn’t breaking any laws.

A gun-toting drone, tested and video taped by an 18-year-old Connecticut man apparently did not violate any existing laws, although the FAA is looking into it, according to ABC News and other reports.

In a video posted to YouTube July 10, the drone is seen hovering about five feet in the air, firing a front-mounted semi-automatic gun. The man, identified by several news outlets as engineering student Austin Haughwout, and his father said that the test took place in a remote area and that they made sure there were no people around.

FAA regulations deem drones, aka unmanned aerial vehicles, to be aircraft and prohibit the pilot of any aircraft from dropping objects from the air in a reckless or negligent manner, said Guy Haggard, a board-certified aviation attorney with GrayRobinson, Orlando, Fla. “There are legal helicopter pig hunts in remote parts of Texas, for example,” he said.

Here’s the regulation 91.15:

No pilot in command of a civil aircraft may allow any object to be dropped from that aircraft in flight that creates a hazard to persons or property. However, this section does not prohibit the dropping of any object if reasonable precautions are taken to avoid injury or damage to persons or property.

And regulation 91.13 states that in both the case of air navigation and other aircraft operations, no one can operate an aircraft “in a careless or reckless manner so as to endanger the life or property of another.”

The key here is a lack of recklessness or negligence. Perhaps the most famous, albeit fictional, example of a rule violation had nothing to do with guns or drones. It’s the old WKRP in Cincinnati episode in which the radio station of the title sponsored a live Turkey drop as a Thanksgiving promotion.

It turns out that a turkey dropped from a helicopter does not fly as much as plummet, causing (again fictional) property damage and considerable turkey carnage. It was darkly funny, but if something like that happened in reality, the pilot would be in violation of the FAA’s current rules.

As for the Connecticut gun drone, an FAA spokesman told CNET that the agency is looking into whether the test flight, which did not break any state laws, violated any of its own regulations.

Boeing warns airlines: Lithium battery shipments are a fire hazard

Boeing has warned all passenger airliners that including bulk shipments of lithium-ion batteries in their cargo could cause fires that destroy airplanes.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Agency has also confirmed this word of caution, adding in their own statement that tests “conducted on the transport of lithium batteries has indicated that it presents a risk,” according to a report by the Associated Press.

Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries are used in cellphones, laptops and many other electronic devices. They are also often flown in the cargo of international airlines. Now, in a guidance sent by Boeing, airlines have been urged to refrain from carrying shipments of the batteries “until safer methods of packaging and transport are established and implemented,” Boeing BA spokesman Doug Alder told the AP in an e-mail.

Tests conducted by the FAA over the past year have shown that inflammable gases such as hydrogen are emitted when the batteries short-circuit. They can then cause explosions when ignited, and cause fires that are hard to extinguish. After one such test, the FAA concluded that the “cargo liner is vulnerable to penetration by molten lithium.”

Observers will note that the infamous Malaysia Airlines MH370 plane that went missing last year carried a shipment of 5,400 pounds worth of lithium-ion batteries, as detailed in investigations. That plane, which still has yet to be found, was a Boeing 777 airliner carrying 293 passengers and crew members.

Drone makes first legal doorstep delivery in milestone flight

It may not have been as long as a three billion mile trip to Pluto, but a small drone’s journey on Friday delivering medical supplies to a rural health clinic in Virginia was a milestone in its own right.

The successful delivery by a small pilotless aircraft operated by an Australian startup, Flirtey, made for the first time the federal government has legally allowed such a flight. The Federal Aviation Administration approved Flirtey to make the delivery as part of a joint venture called “Let’s Fly Wisely” between NASA, Virginia Tech university, several healthcare organizations in Virginia, and Flirtey, among others.

The delivery comes at a time when the FAA has been butting heads with Amazon AMZN and other companies interested in using drones to deliver products. Amazon, in particular, has been battling the FAA for approval to test drone deliveries, but it has complained the administration’s proposed drone regulations are too strict and hinder innovation of unmanned aircraft.

Amazon as well as pro-drone organizations like the Small UAV Coalition have submitted thousands of comments to the FAA regarding the changes in drone regulations they would like to see the administration make.

Under current rules, Amazon and other companies are all but prevented from making drone deliveries. Any company wanting to test drone flights can only do so during daytime and only as long as the aircraft remain in sight of its operator. Additionally, companies are not allowed to fly drones higher than 500 feet. Amazon and other companies are not expected to be able to launch commercial drone delivery operations until the regulations are finalized, which could come within a year from now.

It’s interesting to note that the FAA didn’t select Amazon to be involved in this particular mission. Instead, it went with relatively unknown startup that has recently expanded drone-flying operations to New Zealand, where government regulations are more lax.

Getting medical supplies to the poverty-stricken area of Virginia is apparently difficult because of its isolated location, so residents were eagerly waiting the results of Friday’s flight, NBC News reported. The region is one of six locations the FAA has approved for drone research and testing.

The startup also expanded its operations to Nevada where it’s partnered up with the University of Nevada, Reno to research and develop commercial drone operations in the United States.

While the deliver of medical supplies in rural Virginia can be qualified as a success, it’s important to keep things in perspective.

This particular flight was a joint project involving multiple parties, NASA, a university, and a company that has a track record delivering shipments via drone. It does not mean that we are likely to see a boom in drone deliveries any time soon, because FAA drone rules are still being ironed out.

This particular project is more of a symbolic milestone, but a milestone nonetheless.

As commercial drone use soars, ‘drone services’ take flight

In late June, Massachusetts-based startup Fly4Me opened for business, joining more than 500 (and counting) businesses in the U.S. that are now cleared by the FAA to operate drones commercially. Like most of its competition, Fly4Me’s so-called Section 333 exemption allows the company to deploy drones to gather aerial data and conduct research for commercial gain.

However, the company differs greatly from other Section 333 holders, chiefly because it doesn’t actually operate any drones. Its website, launched in beta last month, connects drone pilots with companies that need aerial data collection, but don’t necessarily want to invest in their own drone fleet. The company is part of a growing sub-market within the larger drone economy focused on “drones as service,” a segment many believe will soon overshadow the multi-billion-dollar market for drone hardware itself.

“There are drone makers, there are the companies that want to use drones, and then there’s everything in between,” says Lisa Ellman, a drone policy expert and co-leader of the UAS Group at the Washington D.C. offices of law firm Hogan Lovells. “Drones as service” companies see opportunities in a growing space that exists between those certified to operate commercial drones and potential clients that want to utilize drone data, she says.

The growing drone service business has a lot to do with changing government regulations. Technically, commercial drone operations are banned in U.S. airspace pending the finalization of new FAA drone rules expected sometime next year, but under pressure from industry groups the FAA last year began issuing exemptions for commercial drone use. Those exemptions, known within the industry as Section 333s, allow companies to fly drones commercially under a pre-defined set of conditions outlined in government applications every firm must fill out. Companies must identify what specific drones they want to use, what those drones will be used for, and why the marketplace needs that service.

Originally Section 333 exemptions also required applicants to state the location in where drone operations would take place, limiting where and when exemption holders could operate their drones. Then, in March, the FAA eased its drone rules, allowing Section 333 holders to operate their drones anywhere as long as their aircraft remained below 200 feet above ground level.

The new regulations have been a huge boon for the drone service industry, since companies like Fly4Me can now get a Section 333 that allows it and/or its subcontractors to conduct commercial operations anywhere not strictly prohibited by FAA rules (for example, near airports). Fly4Me received its Section 333 approval in April is and already working with several certified drone pilots to provide data to customers, mostly aerial video and imagery for photographers and commercial properties like golf courses. The company is also working with a solar company to capture roof dimensions and shading data for solar panel placement and infrastructure inspections.

“We did not expect this kind of explosion, this kind of interest,” says company cofounder Dmitry Sharshunskiy. “We originally were going to launch only in Massachusetts, but we received so many requests that we had to immediately go nationwide.”

Meanwhile, a firm called Measure, currently based in Washington, D.C., has also recently moved into the drone service space. The company acts as something of a consultant and drone service provider that targets larger Fortune 1000 companies. While Measure currently operates no drones itself, that will likely change in the next 12 to 24 months, says company CEO Brandon Declet. The company’s Section 333 exemption covers more than 400 different types of aircraft, he says, allowing Measure to contract just about any drone a client could need for any application.

Brokering drone services is only part of what Measure does for clients, Declet says. Right now the company is focused on developing relationships with corporations that could benefit from drones and helping them figure out how best to integrate the technology into their operations. The ultimate goal, he says, is to show these companies exactly how drones fit into their business model and then ink long-term contracts for providing those drone services.

Unlike other companies, most of Measure’s founders come from the world of government or big business rather than aviation or aerospace, fields where understanding regulation and return on investment (ROI) trump technical acumen. “We’re one of the few companies talking to end users about ROI,” Declet says. “There’s no reason for anyone to sign a long-term contract [for drone services] if there’s not some kind of return on investment.”

Providing companies with drone insight has helped it develop relationships with mining companies in Western Australia, Guinea, Zambia and Tanzania, as well as with a utility in Gabon. The company will soon launch an ROI calculator for the American Farm Bureau Federation to help farmers determine whether incorporating drones into their business makes sense. It’s also worked with the American Red Cross, producing a report detailing how drones could aid in disaster response.

Fly4Me and Measure are far from alone in the drone services space. Gofor offers “drones on demand,” an app-based platform allowing customers to use their smartphones to “task a drone to complete a variety of helpful tasks.” Likewise San Francisco-based startup Skycatch, which offers its own proprietary drone platform for lease to commercial customers, is developing a platform called Workmode that connects companies to third-party pilots, similar to Fly4Me. A number of startups—some still in stealth mode—are developing similar business models built around brokering drone services to those who need them.

The growing number of businesses entering the drone service market signals a certain maturity within the larger drone marketplace, Declet says. The real inflection point for the industry won’t come to pass until sometime next year when the FAA likely abandons the Section 333 exemption regime. Most assume the agency will decide to issue a new set of rules for commercial drone operations that will allow companies to operate drones commercially, either in-house or as a services provider. Once that happens, service brokers and integrators, like Measure, will likely see increased competition, he says, althought the overall marketplace will expand as well. As drone technology itself becomes more mainstream, drone services will be the next big evolution for the industry.

“I think this market is going to be very, very large [and] ultimately much bigger than the hardware market,” Declet says. “Services is the future of this industry.”

FAA to remove Donald Trump’s name from navigation system

The expanding list of organizations breaking ties with Donald Trump in light of his anti-immigrant remarks includes NBC CMCSA, two celebrity chefs, and now, the aviation authority of the United States. The Federal Aviation Administration has announced that it will be changing the names of three navigation points above the Palm Beach International Airport, DONLD, TRMMP and UFIRD.

Maybe Gregory Gish, the since-retired flight controller who suggested the names, never imagined that making his love for “The Apprentice” an official part of the RNAV system would be cause for embarrassment at the FAA, but according to a 2010 article in the Palm Beach Post, some of his colleagues were ahead of the curve. “We actually have had reports of people refusing to fly these departures because they are so offended by the fact that Trump has been memorialized,” said a PBI official shortly after the names were adopted.

FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown tells the New York Times that “in general, the F.A.A. chooses names that are noncontroversial.” Over the years, cartoon characters have proven much more popular than cartoonish billionaires; there’s SNUPY, above the Charles Schultz–Sonoma County Airport, or on the descent into Portsmouth, New Hampshire, ITAWT, ITAWA, PUDYE, TTATT, and IDEED.

“‘Making America Great Again’ is far more important to me than an honor I never knew I had … meaning a blip on the radar,” said Trump in a statement, though in 2010, when informed the route had been named after him, he told the Palm Beach Post “it is my honor.” Brown says the FAA is not sure if IVNKA ONE, named after Trump’s daughter, will also be renamed.

This article was previously published onTravel + Leisure. T+L is a content partner of Fortune.com.

How the FAA and airline industry hope to protect planes from hackers

It’s not just the public that’s terrified about hackers attacking airplanes.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration along with members of the airline industry are holding private meetings to discuss how to better protect airplanes—whether they be big Boeings BA or corporate jets—from hackers, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

The meetings are supposed to help the aviation industry come up with design and testing standards that will help reduce aircraft cybersecurity risks. Airline security has been a hot topic over the past few months amid a series of hacking attacks on retailers, banks, and the government agencies.

Last week, a group of hackers were able to break into the computers of Poland’s busiest international airport, resulting in the grounding of ten airplanes.

Meanwhile, in April, a security researcher Chris Roberts claimed via Twitter that he could hack into the engine monitoring system of a United Airlines UAL aircraft. Because Roberts tweeted while on board a United flight, the airline blocked the researcher from boarding a connecting flight on another one of its planes and the FBI pulled him aside for questioning.

While being interrogated, Roberts reportedly admitted that he once hacked an airplane and caused it to fly in a sideways manner. But authorities didn’t immediately arrest Roberts, which suggests they had no immediate proof that he actually carried out the hacking.

Shortly after, United Airlines unveiled a program designed to award free frequent flier miles to potential hackers who could break into the company’s mobile applications and websites. The company said that the program would not be open to hackers wanting to crack into an airplane’s Wi-Fi or on-board entertainment or control systems like Roberts did.

According to the Wall Street Journal report, Boeing has also turned to outside security experts to uncover security bugs. As part of a security program, the airline maker is paying friendly hackers to break into the onboard software of its 787 Dreamliner.

At the latest meetings, a central topic among aviation experts is safeguarding the air-traffic control system that communicates with the aircraft, according to the report. Security and aviation experts say that the on-board systems are generally tough to break into, but that maintenance and air-traffic control systems are more vulnerable to bugs.

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Hold fire! Shooting your neighbor’s drone could be a felony

Eric Joe, a resident of Modesto, Calif. has successfully sued his neighbor in small claims court for shooting down his drone while it was flying over Joe’s family residence. He was awarded $850 for the damaged equipment, according to Motherboard. While Joe attempted to peacefully resolve the matter between the two at first, he eventually filed a lawsuit after his neighbor, Brett McBay, refused to pay for the damages.

Though it’s not the first time a drone has been shot down, the Federal Aviation Administration has yet to charge anyone who has shot down a drone. However, the agency has classified drones as “aircraft,” which would mean that they would be under the same restrictions as other types of aircraft. Shooting one would therefore be a federal felony.

In Joe’s case, the judge immediately ruled in his favor because of McBay’s admission in an email exchange of shooting the drone, adding that,”McBay acted unreasonably in having his son shoot the drone down regardless of whether it was over his property or not.”

Though it’s not necessarily setting a precedent, the case is significant and will likely influence future similar incidents.

This lawmaker has a very controversial plan to fix air travel

A powerful Pennsylvania lawmaker is set to propose changes to America’s air traffic control system that would turn it into “a federally chartered, independent, nonprofit corporation,” according to a report Monday on Bloomberg News.

The move, if approved, would be “the most far-reaching change since the current structure was created in the 1950s,” Bloomberg said.

It’s not often that legislation is thought to have a chance of becoming law in today’s divided Washington, but House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster, who is author of the proposed legislation, thinks that the current political climate would support his plan, according to Bloomberg.

That’s because FAA funding has been imperiled by the sort of budgetary feuding that has led to two government shutdowns since 2011, and led to significant delays at airports back in 2013. Congress was criticized two years ago for quickly coming to a compromise to end furloughs at the FAA while ignoring other programs such as Medicaid and Head Start, because Congresspeople are directly affected by airport wait times.

Congress’ unique interest in the smooth functioning of the nation’s airports is perhaps one reason Shuster is confident his bill will make it through a fractious legislature. It also may help that other countries, from Canada to Germany, have initiated such reforms with some success. If the bill gains steam, companies from Harris Corp. HRS to Lockheed Martin Corp.LMT and Raytheon Co.RTN will likely oppose it, according to Bloomberg. These firms are involved in a multi-billion dollar upgrade of the nation’s air traffic controller system, and don’t want to see reforms that would complicate the process.